


Midnight Hall

by Pinetasticapple



Series: 30 Day Cheesy Tropes challenge [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bartender AU, Bartender Dean, M/M, Slow Build Castiel/Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-17
Updated: 2014-06-17
Packaged: 2018-02-05 01:52:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1801075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinetasticapple/pseuds/Pinetasticapple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Day five: Bartender AU.<br/>If there was one thing Dean Winchester could feel proud of in his life was his ability to mix cocktails. It had taken him years for it, fourteen to be precisely, to be at where he was now, as the owner of his own small bar “Midnight Hall”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Midnight Hall

**Author's Note:**

> I know I'm skipping the Angel/Demon one, but I have a bigger idea for it and need more time to work on it.  
> Also, I took a lot of references from the anime Bartender, just in case.
> 
> The amazing trope list: http://ghiraher.tumblr.com/post/37135733342/30-day-cheesy-tropes-challenge

If there was one thing Dean Winchester could feel proud of in his life was his ability to mix cocktails. It had taken him years for it, fourteen to be precisely, to be at where he was now, as the owner of his own small bar “Midnight Hall”.

He had started when he was barely eighteen and desperate to look for a job in order to sustain not only his but his little brother’s life. Two weeks and the possible threat of being arrested for shoplifting, it had been a man named Chuck who gave him a chance to work at his bar “Eden’s Garden”.

Dean started low, cleaning before it opened, cleaning after it closed, making sure the stocks arrived, and cleaning the glasses as well as any other task he could fill. Two months later and he had learned how the liquor bottles were organized, where the mixers had to be and the proper order of the glasses the bartender had to use in order to please the customers.

Ten months in the job and thanks to Balthazar, one of Chuck’s best bartenders, and his insistence to his boss, that Dean became his runner. He had to learn how to stock the bar so Balthazar could mix the proper drinks, make sure they had enough ice, select the right garnishes and learn the right name of the glassware.

Dean was under Balthazar’s tutelage for the following two years, at the bartender’s insistence that Dean could do better than just cleaning and organizing, he had taught the arts of a good bartender.

By the time Sam was starting college, Dean had succeeded in knowing what a straight up drink was, which cocktails required tequila and which ones vodka, how to hold the margarita shaker and the right timing to serve a pint of beer.

Yet one thing Balthazar had to admire from Dean’s hard work and determination was the fact that Dean had turned out to be not only an amazing cocktail mixer, but also a good listener to the customers.

Balthazar was a flirt, no doubt about that, he knew his limits with the customers in order to gain a proper tip. But Dean? Dean was a natural at it. He didn’t push or step over the customers, he didn’t sneer or scoff at the ones who grabbed the nearest stool and ordered a single beer. He always looked out for those who tried to spice other people’s drinks and made sure they never return to their bar. He got to know the regular customers like Gabriel, a short sweet tooth kind of man who loved sweet and fruity cocktails; he had been one of the customers who would constantly put Dean to test with the infinite amount of names the cocktails had and would make sure to give a good tip every time Dean got them right at the first try.

Six years had passed after the night Chuck gave Dean a chance to work with honesty and determination. When Sam graduated from college and found a place to work in New York, Dean was receiving Chuck’s blessing to leave and try luck on his own at the Big Apple.

Dean was twenty six years old when he owned his own bar, “Midnight Hall” and it had been five months after his inauguration. It was never overcrowded, but it always had customers since its opening until the late night hours.

And it took fate only five months after its inauguration for Dean to meet Castiel Novak.

Castiel was, despite his appearance as a solitaire and grumpy man, a language interpreter. He was fluent not only in English, but also Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian and Japanese. He had worked in many conferences and he had been in medical ones as well, working as a simultaneous interpreter for the people who hired him.

But the past month had been rough for him. He had to move to New York in order to be closer to many of his clients, and New York wasn’t so bad, but he felt lonely and unable to cope with the different life style and the rushing the city seemed to have.

It had been one night after a meeting he had that he saw the small sign of “Midnight Hall”. Castiel wasn’t so much of an alcohol fan, he could stand his alcohol tolerance but there was something about the plain taste of beer that called him out of it.

But the place looked so calm in opposition to the rest of the street and Castiel was in the need for something to relax that he decided to give the small bar a try.

The inside was an instant pleaser to Castiel’s eyes and the environment wasn’t what he thought he would find. The wall behind the counter was covered in bottles of many colours and shapes. He noticed some were just for decoration, but he had never thought there would be so many types of alcohol to offer.

He made his way to one of the stools, eyes scanning the place and fingers tapping against the wooden but neatly polished surface. It wasn’t until a pair of green eyes caught his attention that he noticed it was the bartender calling for him.

“First time here?” he asked with a smile and Castiel found those eyes incredibly beautiful with the amber light of the place.

“Yes” Castiel replied “yes it is”

“It’s alright, the place hasn’t been open for that long, I’m Dean” the bartender smiled “anything in mind for the night?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“To drink?” Dean gestured to the wall “or would you like to see the menu?”

“No, no” Castiel shook his head, “I’m sorry I’m not good at this, I don’t have much living here so I don’t know what should I order”

“That can be solved” Dean offered him a warm smile, “Do you want something simple or a cocktail?”

Castiel mused at that, wondering what would be better. He noticed the other few customers sharing beer or glasses with amber liquid, as well as others with elegant glasses and colourful drinks.

“Do you have something with whisky in it? I really don’t know the names”

Dean nodded and made his way to the side with the glasses. That caught Castiel’s attention, he had never seen how they prepared the cocktails, and usually they were already served and taken to them the few times he had been at a bar with some clients.

In reality he didn’t know what exactly was looking for, but he found interesting how Dean stirred the liquid and poured it with grace in the cocktail glass.

“What is this?”

“That’s a Manhattan cocktail” Dean smiled as he served the drink “think of it as a way to introduce you to the city”

Castiel took a small sip of the drink, when the fine taste reached his taste buds, Castiel could feel the subtle taste and sweetness. It wasn’t as strong as he thought, it was pleasant, cool and he had to pull it away or he would drink the entire glass in one go.

“This tastes amazing” Castiel looked at the bartender, who just smiled in return and moved to clean some shot glasses.

That was how Castiel would try to pay a visit to Dean’s small bar at least twice a week, each time getting to know the bartender more and more. Dean had to admit, getting to know Castiel was interesting, and Castiel usually visited when the business wasn’t crowded so he could take the chance to slip some conversation with him.

Castiel got to know about Dean’s brother, who was now in way of entering an important firm, about the history of “Midnight Hall” and how Dean became a bartender. In return, Dean learned about the many languages Cas was able to speak, that he was only child but had lots of cousins on his father’s side. They became good friends, and with each day Cas would feel more at ease with New York and its lifestyle.

It didn’t take long for him to fall over the bartender.

When Cas realized about his feelings he had a minor freak out because he didn’t want to lose his friendship with Dean. But he couldn’t help the casual slips whenever he was there, especially when he realized there were some alcoholic drinks that made his tongue go loose.

It had been eight months after Cas first visited “Midnight Hall” for him to let it slip how much he had fallen for Dean Winchester.

“Did you know that tequila is also the name of a state in Mexico?”

“I thought something like that, it isfrom there Cas” Dean replied, moving to clean the margarita shaker he had used for Cas’ drink

“Many of the tequila cocktails have titles in Spanish as well” Cas added “ _Margarita, Matador, Paloma…”_

“ _I can see tequila is not really your forte_ ” Dean started to say, noticing the time and how Cas was once again, the last customer in the bar.

“ _Con esta luz tus ojos tienen un tinte robado del bronce como el tequila_ ”

_“Pero cuando se ven verdes como la absenta siento que podría perderme en ellos más rápido que si lo tratara como el licor_ ” Cas looked at Dean with an intensity Dean hadn’t seen before “ _aun así, preferiría entregarte mi corazón en vez de las hadas que envidian el color de tus ojos_ ”

Dean felt his ears warming up. He had heard Cas talking in other languages before, even if he had no idea of what he was saying. But when Cas started to talk and look directly at Dean, he couldn’t help the feeling that those words were meant for him only.

“I think we should get you home” Dean said, preparing everything for closing. Cas wasn’t drunk, he could still walk fine and his speech wasn’t slurred, but his cheeks were tainted in pink and he kept saying what Dean thought were compliments, now in French and Spanish.

As he predicted, Cas wasn’t resistant to tequila and fell asleep the moment they reached Cas’ apartment.

The next morning Cas felt his brain mushed and in a haze, the realization of what happened falling like a brick to his head the moment he stepped out of his room. He knew he had said something stupid, what if Dean had understood? What if Dean remembered and asked and figured out what it meant just to think of Cas as a weirdo and banning him from entering the bar again?

“Oh, you are awake, want some coffee?”

Cas blinked in surprise towards his small kitchen. Dean was there, his dress uniform rumpled with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the dark vest lying on top of the couch. Dean was stirring one of Cas’ coffee mugs, a second one already on the counter with the steam swirling above it.

Cas walked towards the coffee and took it graciously, the bitter taste waking up the rest of his body. He knew the awkward moment was upon them, the slight tension in the air, and if he had to come clean with it now then he would have to.

“You know” Dean broke the silence “you have to be the first guy to ever try to flirt with me in another language and with alcoholic references”

Cas burned his tongue.

“If… if that was flirting I mean” he looked at Dean and saw the flush on his cheeks, the way his eyes averted the gaze from Cas and trying to focus on the coffee instead “if it wasn’t I totally get it”

“What if… what if it was courting?” Cas dared to ask, holding the still hot mug in his hands, at least the hot of the ceramic against his skin worked for him to get a grip in case something went wrong.

“Then I wouldn’t feel guilty for doing this” Dean licked his lips and leaned into Cas’ space, connecting their lips together.

Cas had a small moment of common sense to leave the mug on the counter before pulling Dean closer, tasting the coffee and cream on Dean’s mouth.

The mug still fell to the floor when an elbow knocked on it.

They started to date shortly after that. They moved in together two years afterwards. Dean would never forget how happy Cas looked when Dean was organizing his books in their shared bookshelf.

Cas would never forget how calm and perfect Dean looked the morning after their first time in their shared place.

Dean still worked as a bartender, now with his own runner and a bigger reputation among the bartenders.

A year after they moved in together, while enjoying the comfort of the worn but steady couch, Cas had asked Dean to prepare a Black Velvet, since he had read not many were able to do it. Dean laughed as he made his way to their small bar counter, specifically there for the reunions they held sometimes with the few friends they had.

It had taken Dean years to master the Black Velvet preparation, more out of a lack of confidence is using both hands for it. Castiel was there the first time Dean succeeded in preparing it like that. He thought of the day and perhaps that was the reason Cas was asking for that drink.

But when Dean pulled out the champagne and the beer, he noticed the labels were different than he thought. On one hand the champagne had the words ‘Will you’ in an elegant calligraphy, while the dark beer had the words ‘marry me?’ with the same calligraphy.

Dean turned to see Cas, leaning against the counter, a black and small velvet box on his hands. Dean mouthed a ‘yes’ before kissing him across the counter.

Yes, it had taken Dean Winchester fourteen years to be where he was now, as the owner of his own small and successful bar. But the one thing he was really proud of in his life had to be the silver band around his finger.

**Author's Note:**

> English translation of Cas' lines:
> 
> "With this light your eyes have a stolen bronze tint like tequila"  
> "But when they are green as absinthe I feel I could lose myself in them faster than if I tried with the liquor"  
> "Yet I still prefer to give you my heart instead of the fairies who envy the colour of your eyes"
> 
> Apologies for the delay, I had some out of the internet situations to deal with.


End file.
